The Castle in Orange

After a successful day of shopping we finally made it to the castle park.  We've been trying for years and it is either raining or we have a knack for trying to go when it is closed for reasons unknown.  We had a great time with Granny as always.  Great shopping, great company and Casa Ole! 

Boys Hunting Weekend

Game Day and Labor Day

What a fun weekend - it started with a trip to College Station for the Aggie's first game of the season, then we drove back through Houston, picked up the dog and headed to the beach.

 The Aggies won, the girls survived about 3 quarters in the game and that is with no real entertainment other than the football game.  I can't say they are complete fans of being at the game yet.  But they'll get there!  The season is just beginning.

 Ella was a little more excited about the game when she got to hang out with her friend Jenna.  So fun having friends with seats so close!

Sitting in the sun and heat for hours wore this little Aggie out.  I think she slept from College Station back to Houston city limits.

 Here is our annual end of summer sitting in beach chairs pic.  

 The highlight of the weekend was a visit from Granny at the beach!!  We got to escort her to the beach in the golf cart and they she got to watch the girls play around in the sand and the water.We hope she'll come down and visit with us more often!

1st Day of School

Off to a great start!  Ella didn't even really want anyone to walk her to class the first day (Michael did, just to make sure she found it OK and then she told him he could leave!)  Addy ran off to find friends as soon as she set foot on school property.  They are growing up too fast!!

This is going to be a big year for Ella, I can just feel it - for the first time, since maybe she was an infant she wore shorts and a t-shirt to school.  And she actually wanted to put her hair up, with a bow.  Obviously clothing and hairstyle don't really say much on their own, but the change from the norm for essentially the past 6 years is huge.  Then this Friday she brings home some of her school work and she is writing sentence with the words spelled phonetically.   Her cover is blown and I have the evidence.  Anytime she tells me "I can't" those worksheets are coming out!

The Tilsons

It had been WAY too long!  So much fun catching up with old and new friends. 

Equestrian Camp

Addy got her first horseback riding experience this summer and I think she is hooked!  Parents were invited to the last class, so we got to see her in action.  The covered arena was nice to shade from the sun, but did not make for the best photos.  While not the best shot, I love that I managed to capture the horse sticking his tongue out!

When the kids were not riding, they got to help with the other horses in the stables - they got to know all of the horses pretty well.  Here is Addy with Boomer.

Fourth of July Fun

Happy 4-0 Michael!

Happy Birthday Granny

Excited to be able to make a day trip to Orange to celebrate with Granny!

Wine Country Here We Come

We had a fantastic weekend in Napa and Sonoma with our BFFs Mark and Melissa!  Great company, great food, great drinks, great views .  Ready to go back!

 The house we stayed at had a donkey for a neighbor.  She liked to wake up and make her donkey noises a little earlier than we would like sometimes, but she was very welcoming and fun to pet.  

 Got to wake up, sit outside and drink coffee with this view everything.  Gorgeous!

 One of the highlights was a picnic with this view for a backdrop.

Circus Stars of the Future

Another super year at Circus Camp.   And after waiting patiently to be old enough, Ella finally got to join in the fun!  We were super excited when both girls got selected to be in the same act.  Big sister was a little less excited than the rest of us, but she did get the act that she wanted.  Ultimately a fun time was had by all!  The show was great - all the kids did a super job.

The JCC gym put on a super cute show with all the gymnastics classes showing off their skills. The show wrapped up with an award ceremony and Ella was super excited to get a metal.  And this one was real metal, not a plastic one, which definitely didn't go unnoticed by Ms. E.

End of Year Parties

Kolter PTO always puts on a great end of year party and the girls had a blast hanging out with friends.  Here are some cute pics of the girls with their BFFs.

Last Day Of School

Kinder Expo

Ella had her first expo at Kolter.  The assignment was to research 3 different authors/illustrators and then do a self-portrait in the style of the author.  Ella chose Dr. Seuss.  The main characteristics she wanted to capture were the big head - tiny body, funky hair, and big eye lashes.  Other than me drawing one of the circles for one of the eyes she did the whole thing herself.  Then they had a day where the kids displayed their pictures and parents came to see what everyone had done.  Ella is displaying her masterpiece with her friend Robyn.

Crab Festival

We got cleaned up and headed back to the crab festival after the race.  It was even more fun this year because our friends the Olander's joined us, so the kids had fun running around together.  We got to see the weiner dog races this year which was entertaining, a little of the magic show, played on the inflatables, of course did the crab races and ate some crab for lunch.  I love the non-crowded Crystal Beach events!

Racers

We may have a new family tradition!  This year we decided to go to the Crab Festival down at the beach again on Mother's Day Weekend and I happen to notice that there was a 5K adult race and 1K kids race the Saturday of the festival.  I initially thought that Michael might want to run in the 5K and I kind of jokingly asked the girls if they wanted to do the 1K and they both said yes.  And as it turns out, we have quite a runner in the family -- Addison won 1st place girl and was 3rd place overall!! She did awesome.  She got a gold metal that doubles as a bottle opener (adults and kids got the same metals).  Ella was less enthusiastic about the race, but she finished and she was not in last place, so that was exciting too.

Ella's Kindergarten Performance

Oh my gosh, we are so proud!!  The kinder and 1st grade classes at Kolter put on a performance based on the Very Hungry Caterpillar book.  Each language class took a turn reading a page in French, Spanish or Chinese and then they would sing a song.  Not only did Ella sing with her class, but she actually stood up in front of a cafeteria FULL of parents and recited a page of the story in Chinese and then in English.  Her teacher Ms. Yu said that she had practiced the speaking part with all the kids, and then she asked for volunteers to actually perform in the show and Ella enthusiastically volunteered.  She did a great job!

Ladies Lunch

Ella's big gift this year was an American Girl doll, so I surprised her with a lunch at the cafe at the American Girl store.  Grandma, Meme, and Aunt Jean joined us and we got to enjoy a nice ladies lunch together and then some shopping for the new doll.